Red
by crying saucers
Summary: It was all incredibly sudden. One minute they'd been soaring through the trees, alert and prepared, and the next she was gone. (rated T because dark themes, blood, gore)


It was all incredibly sudden. One minute they'd been soaring through the trees, alert and prepared, and the next she was gone. Levi didn't notice at first, he thought she was right behind him, but when he heard a loud yelp and a crack and numerous rustles he halted, stumbling to a stop on a thick branch. A scream, and what sounded like a garbled version of his name, and he looked down, spotting her struggling in the thick fingers of a 10 meter class, which had been hidden by the leafy foliage. Panic flared within him and he'd leaped into action, shooting down at a speed he could barely manage to control. His blades were drawn, and he was ready, but he had failed to spot the other titan, which flung out a meaty hand to grab him. He had narrowly avoided it, swinging in a wide arc around a tree and cutting a deep slice from the nape of its neck. Scalding steam billowed free, and he heard her cry his name again, turned to shoot the hooks of his 3dmg, but found himself frozen in horror when instead he saw giant, yellowed teeth snapping down on her middle.

Her screams pierced the air, drowning out the sound of her own crunching bones, of the spurting blood, of Levi's own enraged battle cry as he burst forward, swinging around and ferociously slicing its nape. The titan dropped to ground, sending tremors echoing through the forest, and with it, so did she, her mangled, red stained body rolling helplessly from its jaws. Levi had flown down, kneeling beside her as her screams quieted to pained sobs, her eyes wide, fat tears dribbling down her face, the salty water mingling with splashes of blood.

"L-levi…" she moaned, and he'd bent closer, barely able to hear her. His eyes kept flicking between her screwed up face and the lower half of her body. Pools of crimson blood had seeped into the grass, and he could see cracked bone and mashed organs. She blinked rapidly, the only arm that still remained whole reaching for his hand as the effort sent what was left of her body into convulsing spasms. She coughed, blood spurting from her mouth and splattering on his cloak. He couldn't bring himself to care as he clutched her hand, holding it tightly between his own, already feeling the warmth leaving them. "I c-can't see p-properly," she choked, her voice panicked as more tears dribbled down her face.

"That's because you aren't wearing your shitty glasses." Levi told her hoarsely. He swallowed the growing lump in his throat, gazing into her brown eyes, flecked with specks of green and amber. They shone in the sunlight, almost gold, glistening with tears. Hanji managed a quiet chuckle, though her face contorted with the pain of it.

"I-it hurts L-levi." She groaned. "I-I'm going t-to die." Her fingers tightened around his, eyes widening fearfully. "I d-don't want t-to!" She hiccupped. "T-there's s-stuff I h-have t-to do…" she trailed off, looking at Levi for reassurance. He could barely hold himself there, barely refrain himself from ripping his hand free and tearing the titan apart, rip it limb from limb. Instead, he rubbed his thumb in circles over the skin of her hand, avoiding looking at the spreading red.

"Yeah," he told her. "You're gonna die four eyes." He saw no point in sugar-coating it, not for her. "But it's okay," he told her. "'cause you're probably going someplace better. To be with everyone else who died stupidly for this stupid cause." He lifted a hand to her face, cradling it gently, tracing her features with the callused pad of his thumb. "And you can ramble on about all that stupid shit and not have to hear me tell you to shut up."

"B-but I like y-you telling m-me t-to shut up." Hanji interrupted, grinning weakly.

"And I like listening to you ramble." Levi retorted, earning a snort of laughter. She convulsed in pain and her grip on his hand became near bruising tight.

"I-I'll b-be cheering y-you on," she choked out. Levi nodded.

"I know you will," he murmured, lowering his head to hers. "Say hi to Isabel and Farlan for me."

And then he pressed his lips to hers one final time, tasting the rusty warmth of blood, the salt of her tears, her lips dry and chapped, and he felt her respond insistently, as if her life depended on it. When he finally lifted his head away, he saw her lips form words, no sound spilling out, and her head fell back against the ground, her eyes wide and lifeless, the spark that had made her so beautiful fizzing out. Levi stared at her pale, red streaked face. He felt an ugly, heavy weight settling in his chest, a pressure mounting inside of him as he closed his eyes, unable to bear the sight of the red that stained her. He gritted his teeth, trying to hold back the sobs, the screams, and the urge to howl at the sky, at whatever deity had put them on this shithole of a world, to curse and roar and swear because she was gone. His Hanji was gone. His light in the darkness of the world. He'd never feel her warmth, hear her cackling laughter, pat her back as she mourned failed experiments, hold her close while she slept peacefully in his arms.

When he opened his eyes, all he could see was the red of her blood, staining his hands, sinking into the mud, splattered on his clothes, coating her body. He dropped her hand, watching it fall limply to the ground. He heard footsteps land behind him, heard a soft murmuring, but he couldn't look up from the sight of his love, carved up before him. He felt a large hand fall on his shoulder, reeled away from the touch, tore his eyes from the carnage to see a grim faced Erwin Smith. He was hauled to his feet, and he didn't fight it, looking back at her corpse. Erwin said something, he didn't hear what, then bent down, ripping something from her arm. Levi flinched at the sound, it cut through him like a knife, echoing in his mind as he recalled a similar sound when the titan had crunched down on her struggling body. The cracking of bones, the tearing of flesh, the pouring of blood. Erwin pressed something into his hand and he looked down numbly to see her badge, speckled with red. The red that stained everything now. He balled the patch up in his fist, he wanted to throw it down, get it out of his sight. He couldn't bear the sight of her blood anymore, the crimson red.

He finally turned away, walking away, he wasn't sure where, just anywhere, anywhere that wasn't stained. A flash of something glinting brought him to a halt, crouching down and picking it up. Her glasses shone in the sunlight. One lense had been smashed, and one arm was mangled and bent, but he kept hold of them, folding them neatly closed and holding them close over his heart.

He knew the heart was just an organ that pumped blood throughout his body, but right now he swore he could feel it cracking, splitting open and spilling red. He allowed a single tear to drip down his face to the ground, before he took off into the trees.

Her last words echoed through his mind, the ones she'd mouthed right before her light had flickered and died.

 _Love you._


End file.
